By JESSICA DOGO

The Nigerian Communications Commission said the number of active mobile subscriptions in the country has reached 220,715,961 million as at August 2023.

The Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, disclosed this at the 18th Abuja International Trade Fair organised by the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) on Thursday in Abuja.

This year’s 12-day edition of the fair is with the theme: “Sustainable Financing and Taxation’’.

Danbatta, represented by the Director, Consumear Affairs Bureau, Mr Umar Alkasim, also said that the number of active internet subscribers was 159,034,717 million, with broadband penetration at 45.57 per cent as at August, 2023.

He said that the competitiveness of Nigerian businesses depended on their ability to leverage on new technologies by acquiring the necessary digital skills to do business on an international scale.

Danbatta said: “In Nigeria today, the number of active mobile subscriptions reached 220,715,961 million as at August 2023, while Teledensity stood at 115.63 per cent at the same period.

“Also, the number of active Internet subscribers was 159,034,717 Million with broadband penetration at 45.57 per cent as at August, 2023.

“In this new environment, the competitiveness of Nigerian businesses depends on their ability to leverage on new technologies by acquiring the necessary digital skills to do business on an international scale.

“This in turn benefits the economy financially.”

He said that NCC’s regulatory efforts in deepening access to digital services would benefit Nigeria and make it competitive comparable with other economies in the areas of job creation and contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth

“Emergence of new services and industries; workforce transformation, and business innovation.

“It is in our response to ensuring that Nigeria is competitive in all these areas that the commission continuously puts a number of regulatory measures in place to ensure seamless access by Nigerians to telecommunications services.

“This is in order to deepen competitiveness of the Nigerian economy by making our businesses and industries digitally compliant,” the EVC added.

To sustain the steady growth of telecoms sector, Danbatta said that NCC would continue to create a conducive environment.

He said that an environment that would stimulate deployment of robust broadband infrastructure to improve the Quality of service (QoS) and Quality of Experience (QoE) for telecom consumers, be it individuals or corporates.

“This is because, as a country, we need robust telecoms infrastructure that will help our industries transit to becoming Information and Communication Technology (ICT)-driven, if we hope to be digitally competitive on the global stage,” Danbatta said.

Earlier, the Director, Consumer Affairs Bureau, Mr Umar Alkasim, reiterated that NCC’s commitment was to ensure fair competition and a level playing field for the all stakeholders in the telecommunication industry.

Alkasim, represented by Head, Consumer Policy Development and Monitoring, NCC, Mr Ayanbanji Ojo, said that the commission was safeguarding the interest of consumers from abuse of their rights and privileges against unfair practices in the telecom service value chain.

“This commitment is demonstrated by the commission’s continuous effort to establish seamless programmes that would Protect, Inform and Educate (PIE Mandate) telecom consumers through various consumer-centric initiatives,” he said. (NAN)

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